PRESENTS

A film by Yorgos Lanthimos

Greece, 2009, 96 minutes

35mm / 2.35 : 1

Press Contact: Rodrigo Brandão

(212) 629-6880 ext 12 / rodrigo@kinolorber.com

Press Materials: http://www.kino.com/press/dogtooth

A Kino International Release

from Kino Lorber, Inc.
333 West 39th Street, Suite 503
New York, NY 10018
 SYNOPSIS

A hyper-stylized mixture of physical violence and verbal comedy, Dogtooth is a darkly

funny look at three teenagers confined to their parents’ isolated country estate and kept
under strict rule and regimen — an inscrutable scenario that suggests a warped
experiment in social conditioning and control. Terrorized into submission by their father,
the children spend their days devising their own games and learning an invented
vocabulary (a salt shaker is a “telephone,” an armchair is “the sea”) — until a trusted
outsider, brought in to satisfy the son’s libidinal urges, starts offering forbidden
VHS tapes in return for sexual favors.

FESTIVAL/AWARD HIGHLIGHTS

Best Film, Best Director, Best Script,

Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Film Editing
Greek Film Academy Awards

Prize Un Certain Regard, Cannes International Film Festival

Special Jury Award, Sarajevo Film Festival
Best Film Award, Stockholm International Film Festival
Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival
Official Selection, London Film Festival
Official Selection, New Directors/New Films

CREDITS

Christos Stergioglou ………………………. Father

Michelle Valley …………………………… Mother
Aggeliki Papoulia …………………………. Older Daughter
Mary Tsoni ………………………………… Younger Daughter
Hristos Passalis ............................................. Son
Anna Kalaitzidou ………………………….. Christina

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou
Produced by Yorgos Tsourgiannis
Executive Produced by Iraklis Mavroidis
Associated Produced by Athina Tsangari
Cinematography by Thimios Bakatakis
Art Direction & Costumes by Elli Papageorgakopoulou
Editing by Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Sound by Leandros Ntounis

Produced by Boo Productions

Co-Produced by the Greek Film Center, Yorgos Lanthimos and Horsefly Productions
 ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
YORGOS LANTHIMOS was born in Athens in 1973 and studied film and television
direction at Stavrakos Film School. Since 1995, he has directed numerous short films
(including 2001’s Uranisco Disco), experimental theatre, music videos and TV
commercials; his first feature film was 2005’s internationally-acclaimed Kinetta.

ABOUT THE CAST

CHRISTOS STERGIOGLOU (FATHER) has collaborated with some of the most
important Greek theatre directors and played lead roles in feature films, short films and
TV series. In 2006, he won the Greek State Award for Best Supporting Actor in Katerina
Evangelakou’s False Alarm; in 2002, he won the award for Best Leading Actor at the
Thessaloniki International Film Festival for Penny Panayotopoulou’s Hard Goodbyes:
My Father and Evangelakou’s Think It Over. He is a graduate of the State Conservatory
of Thessaloniki and the HB Studio of New York.

AGGELIKI PAPOULIA (OLDER DAUGHTER) graduated from the Empros Theatre

School of Drama and is a founding member of the theatre company Blitz, where she
works as co-director, actor and writer. Her feature film credits include Athanassia and
Matchbox.

MARY TSONI (YOUNGER DAUGHTER) is a graduate of the Athens State School of

Dance and the Musical Theatre Dance Attic of London. Her feature film credits include
Evil and Evil: In the Time of Heroes; she also sings in the punk performance band Mary
and the Boy.

CHRISTOS PASSALIS (SON) graduated from the State Theatre School of Northern
Greece and is a founding member of the theatre company Blitz, where he works as co-
director, actor and writer. His feature film credits include Black Field and Homeland.

MICHELE VALLEY (MOTHER) has worked in film, TV and theatre in Switzerland,

France and Greece. She has also worked with the multimedia artist Dimosthenis
Agrafiotis on several poetry projects, experimental performances and translations in
English, French, German and Italian.

ANNA KALAITZIDOU (CHRISTINA) graduated from the State Theatre of Northern

Greece and has worked extensively on television and in theatre companies across Greece.
 DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

The idea for Dogtooth came from speculating about the future of family. How would it
evolve in the future (if it evolved at all), and what would happen if this social organism
ceased existing as we know it? What would someone do to preserve it at any cost, and
what would that do to the people involved? How distorted can bodies and minds become
after being confined and shaped?

We tried to make it the opposite of a claustrophobic film. That's why we placed it in a

big, expensive house with a swimming pool and a big garden. There are many scenes that
take place outside in the beautiful garden, which of course is surrounded by a tall fence.
It’s an openly claustrophobic film.

We worked with the actors more physically and verbally rather than intellectually. We
were trying to figure out what would happen to the most fundamental and basic things,
like language and words and common sense, if they were put in this very specific and
different situation — where would that lead, and what practical problems would be
faced?

The world of Dogtooth takes place whenever you imagine it to be. There are no factual
elements that tell you if this happened today or sometime long ago or in the future.